Scratch That
by Little.Old.Lady007
Summary: Chloe couldn't understand why they had seemed to spare her, but she knew she wanted to help. Alternate season 2 in which the blonde doesn't die. Will update the summary later, it sucks, I'm aware.


**So I'm still mad they killed off Chloe. So mad, I still haven't watched past 2x05. This is why I created the alternate season 2, to mend my poor heart, and I decided to share it with you guys.**

 **Picks up with 2x01 obviously.**

* * *

He returned to the IADG headquarters after their trip to New Brunswick. It hadn't been a particularly successful mission, but at least they had managed to retrieve the leopard, meaning they were close to having the cure, again. They'd lost their dispersion method after the bees had begun experiencing similar symptoms than the rest of the animal kingdom, but they'd find a way. Jackson Oz remained hopeful.

Leaving the leopard in the very capable hands of Mitch and Abe, he went out to find Chloe, who hadn't met them at their arrival. He found her, in the busy lobby turned medical clinic, still rocking the baby she'd saved from the army of swarming bees mere hours ago.

Approaching her, he could hear the faint French lullaby she was singing, a melody that seemed clashing within the hectic surroundings.

Her eyes shot up towards him as she saw him approaching, a hopeful smile decorating her lips, "Everything go on as planed?" she asked.

Jackson gave her a half smile as he shook his head, "We secured the leopard, but we couldn't get to Jaimie."

"What? Why not?" she exclaimed, as her smile quickly dissipated, and she shot up from the chair where she was seated, causing the infant to start stirring in her arms.

"We were completely surrounded, we had no other choice," Jackson explained.

"But did you look for her?" the agent asked, concerned, as she bounced the child up and down, hoping to calm her down.

"It was our only choice, Chloe. We'll have to go back for her. Can put in a request?" he tried.

Chloe bit at her lower lip and nodded. "Alright, I'll take care of it," she confirmed.

Softly grabbing the baby's foot, he inquired, "Weren't you going to find locate her father?"

The blonde shrugged her shoulders as she answered, sitting back down, "Yes, I did. But he's dead."

"Oh," he simply said, not knowing what to add, sitting down beside her, placing his hand on her knee and gently squeezing it.

"Yes. Oh," she added without too much inflection, giving him half a smile.

"So what's plan B?" Jackson continued.

Chloe inhaled loudly as she answered, "I contacted Family Services, but they're swamped." He nodded, and she stated, "The world is kind of going to shit right now."

"Yeah, I've realized," he added to which she chuckled.

"Anyways," she continued. "They had no one available to come get her, but there is a… what did she call it... Fost-er? Yes. Foster family that could take her in, but they already have eight kids in their care."

"Okay, do you want me to accompany you when you drop her off?"

" _Huit_! Jackson, _huit_!" she explained.

"What did you tell Family Services, Chloe?"

"That I would find another alternative," she stated.

Jackson couldn't help the faint smile creeping up, as he nodded, "Of course you did."

Chloe smiled, as she widened her eyes and lifted her shoulders. He shook his head and sighed, still with a smile. "And what's that alternative?" he asked.

"Still not clear," she answered getting up, "But I have someone looking for any family members that she has left."

"Chloe…" he started, going after her, and when she turned around towards him, his hand rested on her forearm.

"Jackson, don't start with me. I wanted to do something good. In the midst of everything that's happening, you know this one thing I knew I could actually succeed at. I told her mother I'd save her." She pondered for a moment before continuing, "And now I can't."

"But you did. She's fine, she's happy even," he said, tickling the infant and extracting a laugh out of her, "And she'll live, because you saved her. You've done enough."

Chloe swallowed, shaking her head, "It can't be enough."

His fingered trailed her lower arm, and her eyes locked with his. She added, "Look Jackson, there is something else."

His fingers stopped their motion, and he arched an eyebrow, asking.

"I got a copy of your blood tests," she answered.

"What did they find?" he asks.

"Not here," she added, shaking her head. She grabbed his hand, leading him to a place that would be free of overzealous ears.

A few moments later, they found themselves, outside the building, beside a fire exit, where no one could overhear. Chloe pulled out the file, and handed it to him.

"What do I have?" he asked before opening the folder.

"You're perfectly healthy," she stated, changing the baby's position in her arms, her small body nested on her chest, supported by one arm.

"Okay?" he asked uncertainly.

"Except for your blood type," she explained, pointing to the top corner of the second page of his file with her one free hand. "It changed."

"Maybe they got it wrong. Universal Donor, Universal Recipient," stated Jackson.

"But they didn't," explained Chloe as she pulled out her phone from her back pocket. "I made a few phone calls. You were born O negative, but it changed. Recently."

"The mutation isn't contagious. It doesn't transfer to humans. We know that."

"Maybe we don't know as much as we thought, Jackson."

"This doesn't make any sense," he added. Shaking his head, he continued to look at the page, not believing what he was seeing.

 _The mutation doesn't transfer to humans._

Chloe slowly took the file from his hands and closed it, pulling him into a hug. The infant was safely between them, her small arm in the air, tugging on the agent's blond locks. Taking a step back, Chloe untangled her hair from the tiny hand, and Jackson asked, "Chloe, what are we going to do about the baby?"

"Bella. Her name is Isabella," she corrected. Jackson nodded as she continued, "She has no one left Jackson. The animals, the mutation, it took everything from her, everyone. I'm sorry Jackson, but… I need her to have someone left okay? People can't just die and leave the rest of us to fend for ourselves, alone." She inhaled, her eyes filling despite her, and added, "They just can't."

"I feel fine, Chloe. I'm going to be fine," he reassured, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"You don't know that, okay? The only thing you do know, is that we have no idea what this mutation actually is. Everything is not fine."

Chloe cuddled closer, nesting her head in the crook of his neck, as his arms gently caressed her lower back. He whispered in her hair, "They'll find someone for her Chloe. They will, and until they do, we'll protect her."

They held on like this for a while. Until Chloe no longer felt like leaving everything behind, until Chloe made the commitment that they'd save him, that they'd save the world.

Only when Chloe had decided on all those things did she state, "I'll go make the request for the retrieval team. Can you take her?"

He nodded, and she placed the girl in his arms before walking away. She didn't hear the door close behind her as she walked back into the building, and she turned around to find Jackson, the baby seated in the crook of his elbow, a couple meters behind her, "What is it?" she asked him, taking a few steps towards him.

Holding his cellphone to her, where she could read the text message from Mitch, he explained, "They're ready to test the cure."

* * *

Chloe and Jackson were lying in bed; Isabella rested securely between them, sleeping. Both laid, their eyes wide open, staring upwards at the ceiling, silent, as the weight of the day had taken a toll on them.

Hundreds had died.

The cure had failed.

All the work they had done was now irrelevant.

They needed to start from scratch.

They had the night to rest, in this luxurious plane lent to them by an ominous third party. They were leaving for Argentina in the morning, where they were to meet with a scientist in the midst of tracking down an animal with a Phase II mutation, an animal that might be able to give them something approximating answers.

But both were lost in thought.

Jackson was infected.

The animals were still mutating.

And it was about to get a lot worst.

It was Chloe who broke the silence, as she turned to her side so that she'd be looking at Jackson, her head supported by her hand. "What differentiates a baby from an adult?" she asked.

He furrowed his brow not understanding, and Chloe continued, "Do you think there is something in the infants that cause the animals to… I don't know. Spare them?"

"What do you mean?"

"I keep thinking about the bee attack."

"Chloe, you-"

"I know, I know. But there is something that doesn't add up. I keep trying to understand why they seemed to spare her, spare Isabella" she said, trailing her finger up and down the cherub's cheek. "Her mother was covered with what must have been hundreds of bees, but Bella, I looked at her whole body, she's got only one sting. I would bet it was accidental. Me, I have what? About 20 stings all over my body. I was in contact with the bees a lot less longer than she was. How would you explain that?"

"I agree, it's strange. Do you think there is something in infants that causes the mutated animals to be merciful to them, or do you think there is something with Isabella in particular?"

"I don't know Jackson, but it's weird, right? I don't believe in coincidences anymore."

"Yeah, neither do I."

"Is there anything within normal animal behavior that would explain this?"

"Were really passed normal behavior here, but no, not really. There are primarily two reasons for animals to kill. Food or protection. Hunting isn't a sport for them like it is for us, they hunt for survival. When an animal kills for food they don't care if it's an adult or a kid. Depending on the type of animal, how they attack will differ, but food is food and danger is danger, whether it's a 15 pound baby or a 200 pound adult. I'm not sure where bees would fit into this but anyways…I guess though, if they were killing because they were feeling attacked, they wouldn't be threatened by kids."

"But they've attacked children before. In the park, back in Boston, the rhinos in Africa, dogs even. It's happened."

"True, but not the babies, if I recall."

"So, who makes the cut? What physiological difference is there between an infant and a toddler? Or a toddler and a small child? At what point does one start to become a menace? More importantly, how can a bee see the difference?"

They both pondered on that thought for a while, before Jackson added, "Chloe?"

She looked at him, waiting.

"They're something I didn't tell the others earlier."

"What?"

"Right after I crashed the truck, and I had to jump out. I was lying in the middle of the road." She nodded, and he continued, "There was a tiger. He came right up to me. He sniffed me, and then he walked over me, and walked away."

"Jackson!" she said sitting up.

"I didn't want to worry you," he tried to explain.

She huffed and shook her head, "I'll be a lot less worried if I knew you told me everything."

He nodded, "Do you think this is something similar? The bees reacted to her like the tiger reacted to me?"

"She has no bite mark, Jackson. That one sting?"

"I don't know. I'm just… Should we go see Mitch? See if he has a theory?" he asked, sitting up.

She turned towards the digital clock imbedded in the wall beside de bed reading 00:43. "You want to go wake up Grumpy with this?" she laughed, "Because I sure don't want to."

He smiled, "Good point, it can wait until tomorrow."

Carefully, he pulled on Isabella so he'd have some space next to Chloe. On all fours over Chloe, he placed a kiss on her lips. As he added, "But this can't," he felt her smile under his lips.

Chloe laughed as arms wiggled around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. Isabella started squealing, and the blond broke the kiss, leaning her forehead on his, chuckling.

Rotating until he was back on his side of the bed, he laughed, grabbing the baby and bringing her in the air on top of him, "You're making me reconsider this set up kid."

Chloe laughed, her arm reaching out to him and she brought herself closer to him, her arm crossed on his bare chest and her chin rested of her forearms, she asked him, "Do you think I'm being stupid?"

"I would never think you're being stupid Chloe," he confirmed bringing the baby down.

"But?" she tried.

"But, the cure, it changes everything, the fact that we have to start back from scratch. It's dangerous."

"But isn't everything dangerous nowadays. I mean someone out to get a pint of milk got trampled by an elephant in DC today. You had to wrestled a mob of baboons for a 6 pack of beer. Nowhere is safe. "

"I know. We'll make this work."

Chloe smiled as she rested her cheek in her arms, her eyes closed. He couldn't help but grin as he looked onto her, peaceful. His arms reached out around her, his hands meeting together in her back.

In that moment, it was harder to remember the atrocities that were happening all around them, in that moment, he could say he was perfectly happy.

And then what started out as whimper quickly escalated to cries, and he sighed, "Really? We were having a moment here."

Chloe chuckled, picking Isabella up, she explained, "I've got it, I think she needs a diaper change."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips and added, "And it's only temporary, they'll find someone. We'll get back to normal in a bit." She winked her spot close to the door, "Or we'll have uncle Mitch babysit."

Jackson let out a snicker, "Yeah, right. I think I'd vote Uncle Abraham."

"Or Jaimie." Chloe added, as her eyes found their way to the floor.

"Or Jaime," he repeated. "Because we _will_ rescue her," he added.

"I love you," she simply stated.

* * *

 **Still not sure how close to the actual show I'll keep this, but the fact that the baby had nothing annoyed me more than I care to admit in the premiere, so...** **If you have any comments or recommendations, just hit me up. I don't bite! :)**

 **Oh, and thanks for reading!**


End file.
